The Francis Salway era at property firm Land Securities is set to close at the end of March as the Chief Executive Officer hands over to Robert Noel, currently Managing Director of the London Portfolio.
The news was revealed on the same day as the group's third quarter update covering the final three months of 2011.
Total property sales in the quarter were £104m (net receipts) at 1.9% below March 2011 valuations and at an average yield of 7.6%.
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Total investment in the quarter reached £89.1m, including capital expenditure on developments of £51.1m and acquisitions of £11.1m. The acquisitions were at an average yield of 1.4%.
The London division made no significant acquisitions or disposals during the period but since the beginning of this year it has sold £205.4m worth of property.
Land Securities has also announced a new £1.05bn revolving credit facility at 1.2% over the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. This facility is significantly less than the firm's previous £1.5bn overdraft although provides slightly more relaxed terms, allowing the loan to value ratio to reach 80% in some circumstances.
The firm has also seen its bilateral credit facility fall from £400m to £300m.
Adjusted net debt at the end of 2011 was £4,089.7m, down from £4,142.2m at the end of September.
Group loan-to-value (LTV) at 31 December 2011, based on 30 September 2011 asset values, was 37.2%, down 0.5% from the end of the previous quarter.
The cost of debt to Land Securities is now 5%, up from the 4.9% seen at the end of September. Its average debt maturity has gone up from 11 years in September to 11.2 year today.
Commenting on the performance over the penultimate quarter of his reign Salway cautioned over the length of time it was taking to get tenants in place: "As is to be expected in a period of economic uncertainty, letting transactions are taking longer to execute."
The group said the office space at its development at One New Change, in the heart of London's financial district, is now 82% let.
The Trinity Leeds asset has moved from 54.0% pre-let at September 2011 to 57.8% pre-let with a further 7.9% in solicitors' hands.
Meanwhile, in Glasgow, 185-221 Buchanan Street has moved from 67.2% pre-let at September 2011 to 90.7% pre-let by income for the commercial element of the scheme.
Referring to his departure, Salway said: "The business is in very good shape and has strong leadership for the future."
Since Salway took over in 2004, Land Securities has had a roller-coaster ride, nearly doubling in value by the end of 2006, then crashing, along with much of the property sector in 2007. Over his entire tenure the stock has lost around 32%.
His successor, Robert Noel, is a recent recruit, having just joined the firm from Great Portland Estates in 2010 to take over Land Securities' London Portfolio.
He said he was "delighted" to be taking over and pointed to the firm's strong balance sheet and "high quality assets".
Shares in Land Securities fell 1% in early trading.
BS
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